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kagaku's '92 VN750 rebuild

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  M_Angell 
#1 · (Edited)
Decided I should start a project page since I'll be doing quite a bit over the next few months. I bought my '92 VN750 back in January, learned to ride on it and unfortunately had to make many repairs/improvements in the first few months. Rebuilt the starter, replaced the R/R and stator, but also did some fun things like the ear shave and degoat, and a rattlecan red paint job. Riding season being over, I decided it was time to do a full tear down and rebuild, changing a few things that have annoyed me and properly fixing a few other things along the way.

Here's how she looked when I bought her:


After a few touch ups (repainted, tune up, carb clean), here she is when I first started riding:


..and here she is today, note how the rattlecan red paint job has faded to orange.


After I've disassembled most of her:



My plan is to clean things up to start. The engine and frame are caked in dirt and grease, it seems like the past few previous owners didn't really take care of her at all. The paint job I did over the summer was enough to get me through a few months, but I didn't prep most of the surfaces properly, just wanted something nice enough to ride for a season. Now that I have the time, I plan to do things right.

Plan for tomorrow is to finish disassembly. The bare frame will be much easier to clean, sand down and paint with nothing attached to it. The engine will be pressure washed (once I find a decent price on a rental), though I need to find a good way to seal up any orifices so I don't get water inside.

Overall, here is my wants/needs list:

  • Replace throttle, clutch cables
  • Replace handlebars with drag bars
  • Speedo/tach/instrument cluster replaced all digital
  • Fix the ugly dent in the gas tank
  • Flush/clean the cooling system
  • Replace all four signals with LED
  • Replace headlight, possibly taillight (not sure on this yet!)
  • New grips
  • Replace bad gasket on the stator cover (slow oil leak)
  • Paint! Gloss black frame, satin black almost everywhere else
  • Replace flex pipe in exhaust with straight pipe welded in

Wish me luck. :beerchug:
 
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#3 ·
I used duracolor. Sanded, put down primer, metallic base coat, red top coat and finally cleared it. Wet sanded and waited the proper time between each coat. Didn't wax it after however. It started fading very quickly, within a month it was already orange - my guess is I did something wrong at some point.
 
#5 ·
hmmm, I used rustoleum on mine, primer, color and clear, with wax about 4 weeks after final clear (the rustoleum clear takes forever to fully cure it seems). of course, lots of wet sanding inbetween coats. its not perfectly smooth, but I wasnt after that look. it has a little bit of texture to it.
 
#4 ·
Alright, have her stripped to the frame. Now the fun can begin.

 
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